BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN | WEMBLEY STADIUM 5.6.2016

The last week or so has been crazy in terms of concerts with the Manic Street Preachers and the Super Furry Animals in Swansea one weekend and Stereophonics and BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN the next. I will eventually get around to discussing all of these gigs but first I am going to start by, I mean I basically have no choice but to start by, discussing The Boss' gig at Wembley Stadium last Sunday.

If you're a seasoned reader of this blog or if you know me at all then you know that I have now been in love with Bruce Springsteen for around ten years - since I was around 12 - thanks to my mam constantly playing his records at home. Although I don't think I quite love him as much as my mam, I mean she cried three times during last Sunday's gig - once when Bruce came within spitting distance of us, once when he sang Because the Night and once right at the end with the solo acoustic version of Thunder Road. This is a testament to Springsteen's music and live performances that even though my mother has been following him for the best part of 30 something years his music and gigs still connect with his audience.

We left Cardiff on the infamous Megabus for London (cheap as chips but not the most comfortable but for £5 return for both of us you can't go wrong) at 7am after something ridiculous like 4 or 5 hours sleep thanks to the Stereophonics concert we went to the previous night. After some delicious breakfast in Victoria and a short walk to Westminster we made our way to Wembley. Mam had booked the Premiere Inn which is situated around 2 minutes from Wembley once the dates for The River Tour were announced which means we got the hotel for a heck of a lot cheaper than if we had booked it once the tickets had gone on sale! Forward thinking at its best. It also meant that we didn't have to fight our way onto a tube or race to catch the last train home - yaaaaay.

Before we spent the rest of the day queuing in the baking sunshine with other bruce buds we popped into Lidl to grab some snacks, a few beverages and magazines. Seeing as we only made it to the stadium by like 1pm we were pretty close to the front of the queue (not the golden circle queue but the just outside the golden circle queue). In the 5 hours that we were queuing and waiting for Bruce to come onstage we made some new friends (because Springsteen fans are the nicest), drank beer, bough t-shirts, ate grapes and saw people pass out (it was CRAZY hot). Although we were mere mortals when it came to queuing - some people had been queuing since Thursday! I love that dedication and if I could have done it then I most probably would have!

Obviously seeing as the tour was The River Tour, Bruce and the E-Street Band played numerous songs from The River including The Ties That Bind, Sherry Darling, Hungry Heart and of course, The River. If you want to see the whole 33 song setlist from Sunday night - yes, you read that correctly THIRTY-THREE SONGS!!!!! - then click here. Lets just stop for a minute to appreciate that Springsteen and the band were onstage for around 3 hours and 45 minutes with NO INTERVAL- THE MAN IS 66 YEARS OLD!

Some of my favourite moments/songs of the night were Badlands, Dancing in the Dark, The Rising, Out In the Street, Because the Night and my favourite way to end a show, Shout. The whole gig was one big party, the crowd were bouncing and in full voice. I know I've said it before but nothing, nothing comes close to the feeling you get from being at  a Springsteen gig. You get this kind of euphoria which is like nothing else. Gosh, Bruce makes me so happy! Also, Little Steven's look makes me equally happy!

What a night!

ARCTIC MONKEYS FINSBURY PARK 24.5.14

I think it was less than a week after seeing the Arctic Monkeys in Cardiff back in November of last year that I had already bought tickets to see them at their Finsbury Park gig. The Monkeys are definitely the band of our generation and seeing them live now is totally different to when I first saw them back in 2007 - which is a great thing.

There is no doubting that Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not & Favourite Worst Nightmare are two of the best albums from the last decade and with songs such as Dancing Shoes, Fake Tales of San Fransisco, Brianstorm & Fluorescent Adolecence it is obvious why. However, their  2009 and 2011 albums Humbug & Suck it and See respectively, despite one or two songs such as Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair, didn't connect with their audience as much as AM has.
Since AM's release last year it has just exploded and their new live set that is filled with most of the tracks off the new album feels as comfortable and familiar as any of their hit-filled shows.

Armed with coats and umbrellas we headed on the tube over to Finsbury park last Saturday ready for an evening filled with great music. It all began at half 5 when Royal Blood came on to the stage. I had never really heard much about this Brighton duo but wow, they were awesome. Personally I felt that they were the best support group out of the three that performed before the main act came on stage. Their heavy rock sound made from just a simple bass and drum duo was insane and I have certainly added all of their songs to my Spotify playlist. Miles Kane was next, I had seen him once before as he was the support at some gig I went to which I can not for the life of my remember but despite one or two songs he was not all that great. I much preferred Royal Blood. Tame Impala were the penultimate act on stage at Finsbury and at this point we had made our way to the back of the crowd where we had THE best view of the stage as we were perched on a little hill and we had loads of room to dance/head bang and chat to random people. Tame Impala's tracks would be awesome to put on in the house on a sunny relaxing day when you just want to chill.

Just as the sun was setting the thumping sound of Do I Wanna Know sounded out around North London and Alex Turner and the band came on stage to perform to over 30,000 people. Their setlist was once again very awesome and I must say that I think my favourites from Saturday was Brianstorm because everyone just went mental, Dancing Shoes, Arabella ... actually I could go on forever. Although, there is no denying that finishing the show with R U Mine was genius and a great way to leave the crowd pumped as tens of thousands of us queued to get on the tube back to our homes after yet another awesome, mostly rain free, Monkeys gig :) Oh, and did I mention that there was a Last Shadow Puppets reunion during the encore ;)

ARCTIC MONKEYS CARDIFF 2013

Last week I made the journey from the East of England to Wales to watch the mighty Arctic Monkeys and boy were they amazing. I first saw the Arctic Monkeys on their Favourite Worst Nightmare Tour which, if I remember correctly, was back in 2007 when I was but 14 years old. I learnt a lot from this gig - I learnt that yes, in fact, the Arctic Monkeys are awesome but I also learnt that in an Arctic Monkeys gig it's best to stay back from the front and either left or right of the centre - never centre because you will inevitably be caught in a mosh or a push of some sort. It's funny, after going to numerous gigs you start to be able to judge a crowd and where you should place yourself within that crowd.

Before I start to talk about the Arctic Monkeys, lets just take a minute to appreciate the awesomness and talent but most of all, the coolness of The Strypes. Myself and Nicola, who both attended the Monkeys gig, saw these young Irish boys play in Reading Festival back in August and I instantly loved their music and last Tuesday they did not disappoint. Playing tracks such as Blue Collar Jane, You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover & What a Shame from their new album Snapshot they thoroughly prepared the crowd for the men from Sheffield. Superb - you could have been mistaken to think that they were headlining their own concert rather than supporting. If this band stays together massive things will come their way.

That's all I kept saying when the AM went from song to song was "THIS IS INSANE" because each song they played was a hit - not one song came on that I did not know at least some of the words to and can I just say, what a way to open a show. I mean, Do I Wanna Know? to Brianstorm, Dancing Shoes, to the awesome Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair . . .  I could go on and on. Perfection. The only criticism I would have (criticism . . . shock horror) is that they could have played for longer and I mean, how can they not play Fake Tales of San Francisco & When the Sun Goes Down. . . but I suppose you can't have everything you want in life ey.

 

I think we all also need to take a minute to appreciate Mr. Alex Turner's awesomely jazzy blazer.

I can honestly say that last week's gig in Cardiff was one of the best I've been to and that is saying something. Myself and Nicola's musical few months continues at the end of this month when we pop to the O2 in London to watch the Stereophonics. This will be the fourth time that I've seen the Welshmen live and It's going to be awesome - I've got the Welshflag ready (#represent) and will definitely find my way to the front to see Kelly and Richard up close.  

But yeah, the Arctic Monkeys were, as you might expect, immense.